Personal Bests

A Look Back.

Casey and I have never been big on celebrations. On our own wedding day, our biggest struggle was that we both hated the idea of being the center of attention. So when I looked at the calendar yesterday, and realized what was coming up, it was funny to think that it almost passed us by without notice.

Today is the five year anniversary of the day we met. As we laid in bed last night talking about that day, I found myself tearing up because I was laughing so hard at the memories of our early days of dating. I thought a good way to celebrate (and a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon) would be to share with you guys, a little trip down memory lane, and our journey to year five…

On November 12, 2005 (a Saturday night) I headed out to a cheesy nightclub with my group of girlfriends, for a fun night of dancing. One of my best friends was in the very early dating stages with a guy, and she called him to meet us out at the bar. And since 20-somethings all travel in packs, he brought along his two roommates – one of which was Casey.

I was sitting in a corner booth, packed in around crowds and tables. I remember seeing Casey crawl over the two people to my right, and he plopped himself down next to me. Having had two boyfriends in my entire life prior to him, I was awkward and nervous, and had no idea why he was talking to me. We talked until the bar closed, and eventually numbers were exchanged. For the first time in a long time, I gave out the real one.

Heading home in a cab that night (and fueled by several beers), I announced “I met a hot guy at the bar tonight and I actually gave him my number. I am going to marry him. You may call me Mrs. Malone.”

After all, who wouldn’t fall head over heels for a guy who hoola hoops?

But it wasn’t quite that simple for us. I had just gotten out of a miserable year-long relationship, and Casey was still dealing with divorce from the previous year. Neither of us was looking to be dating whatsoever, but for some reason we also couldn’t forget each other. I put his number in my phone as “Kacey” and he texted me the next day. The next month or so was incredibly casual – just meeting up in bars on weekends (I was 24 at the time) and the occasional phone call in between.

Our first official “date” was to see the movie Walk the Line, the story of Johnny Cash and June Carter. Five years later, we danced our first dance at our wedding with Heidi Newfield singing in the background…

I wanna love like Johnny and June, Rings of fire, burnin’ with you

I wanna walk the line, walk the line, Till the end of time

I wanna love, love ya that much, Cash it all in, give it all up

When you’re gone, I wanna go too, Like Johnny and June…

But obviously that is skipping ahead quite a bit. I dug back and found the first picture ever taken of the two of us together, at my holiday party in December 2005. I remember being so nervous that he was coming over and meeting all of my friends. (Doesn’t he look thrilled?)

And then just as most relationships grow, we continued to get closer and closer, and hung out on a more regular basis. I can still remember the first time I simply went to his house to watch TV – it felt like such a turning point.

In March of 2006, Casey decided he wanted to get a second dog. As a newish girlfriend, I was totally thrilled that my boyfriend was getting a puppy. Little did I know that I was adding to my own eventual family! We picked up Indy on a farm in the middle of nowhere, and with a new pup in the house, I found myself over at Casey’s place more and more.

The following summer, Casey took the two of us on our first group vacation together to a friend’s lake house. Indy and I were both a little nervous to be meeting all of Casey’s friends. At least I could swim – turns out Indy does better on a raft (and sinks like a stone in the water!).

Huey wasn’t so sure about all the newness in the house – a new dog and a new girlfriend hanging around all the time. It took him a very long time to warm up to me, but now we are the best of friends.

At the time, I was working my full time job and an additional part time job, and I found that I spent most of what little free-time I had at
Casey’s place. In just a short year, we really felt like a family.

In June 2007, just a year and a half after we met, we decided to take the leap and officially move in together. We worked around the clock to get Casey’s house ready to sell, sold it ourselves, and moved into our new place together. It was the first time I was living apart from my roommate of seven (!) years, and it was a scary (but fun) transition.

Fast forward to March 2008, Casey proposed in the middle of our dining room, and our house officially became a home. May 9th, 2009, I married the guy that crawled across a booth to sit next to me in a bar, and a few years after my prediction – I finally became Mrs. Malone.

In our five years together we have lived in three houses in Cincinnati, spent a year in Charlotte, and eventually landed in Alexandria, Virginia (where we plan to stay!). We have changed so much from the two kids that met in a bar five years ago, but we have learned so much about each other, and about love, in the process.

What a beautiful post! You two are so adorable together! I completely understand just knowing you’re going to marry someone…driving home after the first date with my now husband, I called my mom to tell her I just went on a date with the man I was going to marry. She thought I was crazy, but 2 years later I walked down the aisle to marry him…sometimes you just know! :)

A very sweet story, and a great way to honor it. My boyfriend and I just celebrated our eighth anniversary yesterday. We plan to be together forever, which is why we’re not in a rush to get married. ;)

There is definitely no rush, especially if you already live together. Everyone told me “just wait, it will be different once you’re married.” And guess what? No it’s not. We already lived and loved like we were married, and the only thing that changed was my name! :)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this post! So beautifully written and I love the pics! I love hearing love stories! Can I just say that I love that Casey picked you out right away!? ;) Have a wonderful weekend, Emily! You truly are beautiful, inside and out! Thanks for starting my weekend off with a smile!

Haha Kacey, YES! You were the only Kacey I know before that, so clearly the only spelling too. :) He always argues that Casey is a boys name, and I am quick to point out that I knew a girl Kacey first! PLEASE tell me next time you are in DC – I would love to see you!

I think sometimes you just know when something is going to last. That's how I feel about my fiance too. From early on I knew we'd get married.

That's not to say we haven't gone through really hard stuff, nothing is picture perfect like in fairytales, but the love we have for each other never wanders, regardless of what we're going through together!

We have definitely had our ups and downs too – that’s just part of the natural process. The key is to working through it. I can honestly say that we almost NEVER fight anymore. We got it all out early. :)

Such a wonderful fairy tale story.
My wedding anniversary is Nov. 16 and my BD is Nov. 20. So we have November in common. I met my husband at a Valentines church banquet and married him that November. We celebrate 19 years this year. 2nd marriage for both but this one is a keeper.
The pics are so cute and the story telling of your relationship was the best. Continue on and you will grow together.
I hope your leg is continuing to heal.
Blessings,
Lancaster Co PA Gal

First, holy bananas! You have 737 comments for the cookbook! Geez people really want to cook clean food.
And that is a sweet story. My parents anniversary is May 9 and they will be married 30 years this May. It’s a good day to get married!

So lovely. This actually made me tear up at the end! I’m such a sucker ;-) I blame it on the fact that I just got married a couple of months ago! Really, though, thank you for sharing. I am sure it was as nice for you to write as it was for us to read.

Awww, this is great! It actually inspired me to look up a calendar from 2001 and figure out just which date my friend’s 16th birthday would have been, when my husband first asked me whether he could ask Lili (our hostess) for my number (hey, it was high school). This actually brought tears to my eyes. So sweet!

Casey is from Indianapolis! I can’t tell you how many games I’ve been to or how many jerseys I own. It’s embarrassing. :) We don’t watch as much now that we live in VA, but we sure do love Indianapolis. (We even have a dog named Indy!)

woman! I just love your writing. Some people are just blessed with the ability to write with so much personality that I feel as though I am one of your friends. My question for you is about your decision to go to culinary school. I have pondered for years of going to culinary school and expanding on my hobby. I am just afraid that I will be “throwing away” a very expensive college degree. Also, I am worried about how tough is it to get a thriving career in this business! Keep up the good and inspiring writing! xo